


Nightmares and Flower Crowns

by Kerriathechosen1



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Anxious Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Character Death In Dream, Eventual Happy Ending, Explicit Language, Flower Crowns, Good Deceit Sanders, Hurt/Comfort, I'm turning this into a fix-it, M/M, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, Nightmares, Not Really Character Death, Originally A One Shot But Now A Story, Request Meme, Sad Morality | Patton Sanders, Swearing, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, near Christmas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:47:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21978316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerriathechosen1/pseuds/Kerriathechosen1
Summary: Virgil has a nightmare, and that combined with his paranoia just might damage his relationship with Patton, for good.Also, flower crowns, the angstiest activity of them all.A request from Tegz on Quotev.Originally a one shot, but due to requests it's now going to be a longer story. We can't just leave things without a happy ending, now, can we? T-T Must protect these boys.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 38
Kudos: 71





	1. Nightmares and Flower Crowns

_His arms were raised above him, wrists held together with a frigid metal clasp so cold that it burned. He opened his eyes, but all he saw was pitch-black darkness. The scent of iron flooded his senses, but he didn’t know where it was coming from. A silence seemed to echo across his chambers for hours as he stood there, limbs weak and tired, waiting for a sign of life._

_As if hearing his call, the sound of silence faded, frightened away by the slowly approaching footsteps. His eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness that he could see the bars of a cell door at the corner of his room. Dread twisted in his stomach as the steps grew closer and closer, and he began pulling helplessly against his restraints. He was sure the rapid pounding in his chest could be heard by whatever monsters had trapped him in here._

_He heard a quiet hiss from the opposite corner of the room. Turning his head, his eyes widened at the sight of a snake, its body coiled up to appear small. One of its eyes seemed to be glaring at him. He gulped. “De-Deceit…?” The snake hissed again, then turned away. Virgil was suddenly aware of the dark puddle surrounding the creature. His heart sunk. “Deceit… hang in there…”_

_A familiar laugh startled him. His head shot up, eyes wide in horror as the cell door began to creak open. “‘Hang in there’? That’s real funny, kiddo. You know, because you’re the one hanging right now? Gosh, I just love puns.”_

_Virgil felt nausea sitting in his stomach, bile building up in his throat, as Patton entered his cell and closed the door behind him. Deceit hissed in spite, which didn’t go unnoticed. Patton casually strolled over to his corner, hands in his pockets. He was humming a cheerful tune when he reached Deceit, who curled in on himself. Virgil’s chest tightened. “N-No, Patton…”_

_“Lies aren’t good for Thomas,” Patton whispered. He stepped into the puddle of blood with his left foot and kicked Deceit into the wall with his right. The pained hiss brought Virgil to tears._

  
_“Patton, please, please leave him alone, I don’t know what’s going on here, please just explain it to me, I don’t understand,” he pled. He heard a frustrated sigh from Patton — Patton, who was always so gentle and kind and loving, who made him feel accepted. Virgil felt nothing but terror for him now._

  
_“Don’t you get it, Virgil?” Patton smiled, but there was no warmth or love in his eyes, only a chaotic madness. “Lying only hurts Thomas. Anxiety only hurts Thomas. So I’m getting rid of them both.”_

_Virgil just stared at him in disbelief. Patton was going to… kill them? No. Patton wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He was too good a person to do something so cruel. Yet, Virgil trembled. This was too far to go for a joke._

  
_He met Deceit’s eye. His fear must have sparked something in the dark side, because the snake suddenly lashed out at Patton, teeth aimed for his neck. Somehow, Patton seemed prepared for the action; before the snake’s teeth could break into his skin, Patton grabbed the snake by the neck with both his hands. His eyes seemed to glow with hatred. “I think that’s enough of that.”_

_A bright light enveloped the room, blinding Virgil for a few seconds. When he opened his eyes once more, Patton was still standing there, but this time Deceit was in his normal human form, grasping helplessly at his throat which Patton didn’t seem to be letting go of anytime soon._

_“I warned you, if you tried anything funny, you’d be forced to come out and bleed to death.” Patton rolled his eyes. “But you didn’t listen.” Deceit’s hands were pulling on Patton’s, and his face was turning blue as he wheezed for air._

_“Patton, please!” Virgil cried. “Patton, please, please let him go, please!”_

_Patton glanced over at Virgil. There was no ounce of sympathy in his cold gaze. But he listened; he tossed Deceit to the floor in the center of the room, where the other side struggled to breathe. Virgil realized that being in his snake form must have been the only thing keeping the blood in his body; there were so many gashes in his arms, legs, torso, even his face, that the floor surrounding him was soon covered in red._

_He wasn’t going to last much longer._

_“D… Deceit…?” Virgil waited for a reply, but Deceit merely curled up into a ball on the floor. His breathing was still irregular, and the blood kept on coming, but he was still conscious._

_“Re-Remus…” Deceit croaked. It sounded as if he hadn’t spoken for weeks… or he’d screamed so much he damaged his voice. “Wh… Where’s… Remus….”_

_“What? Oh, you mean Dark Creativity? Yeah, he’s long gone.” Patton smiled. “I took care of him first. He just… wasn’t good for Thomas. I’m sure you understand.”_

_Virgil shook his head as images of Remus flooded through his head — sword-fighting with Roman, watching movies with him and Deceit, pulling pranks on the other sides with that enthusiastic twinkle in his wild eyes. Remus chained up to a wall, all alone and covered in blood and tears, while no one even knew he was gone. Tears trickled down his cheek. “N-No... “_

_“He told me you were going to save him,” Patton sneered, looking down at Deceit’s broken figure, at the heartbreak in his eyes. “What an idiot. He believed in you until the end. No matter how many times I stabbed him, no matter how many bones of his I broke, no matter how much I made him scream and cry, for days and weeks on end, he kept cackling and saying you wouldn’t let me get away with this.” Patton pressed his foot down on Deceit’s back, eliciting a whimper._

_“‘Dee won’t give up on me. He won’t let you win.’ … What about now, huh, Deceit? Did I win?”_

_Virgil heard a quiet sob from the side on the ground, whose body had mostly stilled. He’d given up. “... Yes… you win...”_

_Patton smiled. “Good. Ready to join him?”_

_Deceit’s voice fell into a whispered plea. “... Yes…”_

_“No! Don’t!” Virgil shouted, but he was helpless to stop Patton from shoving a knife through the back of his head. Deceit’s body went limp. Patton tore the knife out and stood up, watching the corpse as if waiting for it to reanimate. Nothing happened. Deceit was… gone._

_Virgil couldn’t stop his hysterical cries. His first family… gone. And Patton, the one he loved the most, who made him feel safe, the one person he’d been_ sure _would never do him any harm…_

  
_Patton turned to Virgil, holding up the bloody knife with a smile of insanity. “Your turn.”_

_Patton walked towards him quickly. Virgil cried and begged for him to go away, pulling on his restraints with all of his might as Patton grew ever closer. He screamed as Patton reached him and raised the knife,_ and then he woke up with Patton’s psychotic smile burned into his memory.

***

It was the middle of December, and the holiday spirit was festering within Thomas — and, of course, all of his sides. Patton was baking Christmas treats left and right. Roman and Remus took charge of the decorations and music. They’d begun planning and arguing as soon as Thanksgiving was over. Eventually, they agreed to merge their Christmas playlists, even if they argued for a good fifteen minutes over whether White Winter Hymnal was too dark or Do You Want To Build A Snowman should even be considered. They decorated each portion of the house to the liking of whoever used it most — the kitchen had lots of white, baby blue, and pink, whereas the hall with the dreaded steps to the basement were filled with dark green, red, and black. The living room, on the other hand, had to be carefully decorated to match everyone’s taste and be as homely as possible. Meanwhile, Logan and Deceit spent their holidays almost exactly the same. They read and watched documentaries together in silence, drinking Patton’s hot cocoa and politely tolerating whoever pestered them.

Virgil, however, wasn’t in the mood for celebrating. He couldn’t get his mind off that nightmare he had. He joined Logan and Deceit in the living room, but he wasn’t really interested in the show; he just needed to be in Deceit’s presence for a little, to convince himself that he was fine. Thankfully, the other side didn’t seem to notice or care that he stared a little too long.

Earlier that morning, the whole family gathered in the kitchen for omelettes when Remus piped up, “Hey, what if there was a baby chick in one of these, and it got cooked alive, and now we’re all eating it?”

Roman pushed away his plate in disgust; Logan and Deceit simply rolled their eyes and continued eating their meal. Patton’s eyes narrowed. “Remus, don’t say disturbing things like that. Others are trying to eat.”

Remus had stuck out his tongue and made another snide comment, which Roman responded to and instigated a fight at the table. Virgil heard it, but at the same time, he couldn’t hear what any of them were saying. He felt the hand holding his fork shaking. _‘Remus, don’t say disturbing things like that.’ ‘What? Oh, you mean Dark Creativity? Yeah, he’s long gone. I took care of him first. He just… wasn’t good for Thomas. I’m sure you understand.’_

“Virgil? Virgil, are you okay?”

“Virge?”

“Kiddo.” A hand was placed on his shoulder, and there was Patton. His face was close, too close.

 ** _“GET AWAY FROM ME!”_** Virgil screamed, trying to back up but forgetting he was sitting on a chair. He heard worried cries as his chair fell back and he with it; he threw his arms underneath his head to prevent it from cracking against the floor. They slammed against the ground, but not with enough force to sprain anything.

“Virgil, are you all right?” Deceit looked nervous. Almost as nervous as in the nightmare.

Virgil tried to breathe, but he was panicking. He needed to get out.

He looked up at Patton, whose eyes were concerned. But all he saw were lies.

“You stay away from them,” Virgil hissed. “Stay away from me. Or I-I’ll hurt you first.”  
“Virge…” Patton’s eyes teared up. Virgil jumped to his feet.

**_“I will hurt you.”_ **

Then he turned his back on them and fled the kitchen, leaving everyone in a confused silence.

***

Patton didn’t know what was wrong with Virgil. The other sides asked him why Virgil acted that way, but he couldn’t give them an answer. All he knew was, Virgil was in pain. His anxiety was getting to him again, causing him to isolate himself. Patton longed to see him happy again. So he started brainstorming. What could he do to get Virgil to calm down and open up to him?

He thought for a moment, then smiled as he came up with an idea.

***

Virgil didn’t come out of his room until the next day. He didn’t want to confront everyone after… well, after he overreacted. He _knew_ that he’d overreacted. He knew it was just a nightmare, that such cruelty couldn’t possibly be Patton’s true nature… _or could it_?

But he knew he had to leave eventually. He had to be active for Thomas, and he had to check up on Remus and Deceit. And Roman and Logan, for that matter. He felt anxious without the reassurance that they were all right, that Deceit wasn’t bleeding his guts out, that Remus’s corpse wasn’t rotting in the subconscious for a week. That nothing bad was happening to the others while his attention was elsewhere.

So he returned to the living room and plopped down on the arm of the couch, watching the creative twins wrestle for the remote after Remus changed the program from “Elf” to “Robot Chicken.” He leaned back into the cushion and tried to distract himself from worrying about Deceit, who had retreated into his room an hour ago. Sure, Patton was in the kitchen as usual, and nothing was probably wrong ( _probably_ ), but **_what if?_**

“Hey, Virgil!”

The anxious side felt his shoulders jump. A sick, sinking sensation stirred in his gut as he glanced toward the cheerful voice. It was Patton, of course; he didn’t even have to look. He had gotten closer to Patton than anyone else over the past couple years, and he wanted to get closer. Who wouldn’t? Patton was so harmless, so sweet, so beautiful. Something about him just pulled you in and gave you hope. He had that soft smile that lifted the spirits of all, that only the worst sinner could ever dream of taking away. He looked more like an angel than anyone else in the whole world. He used to make butterflies flutter in Virgil’s stomach, embers burn beneath his cheeks, whirlpools whisk away his train of thought. Virgil longed to forget that nightmare, to travel back two days to that time of peace and love, that time when thoughts of Patton gave him joy, not take it away. He loved Patton. But out of all his emotions, Virgil felt fear and anxiety the strongest. He couldn’t deny the possibility that… maybe, just maybe, Patton wasn’t as innocent as he pretended to be. Virgil could never look at the moral side the same way again.

But he could at least try and pretend things were normal. “Yeah?”

Patton smiled. Virgil wondered if it was real, if it was fake, if it had an ulterior motive. “Will you spend some time with me today? I have something I’d like to do with you!” His voice became sing-songy at the end; he brought his hands up to his face in excitement, like he did whenever he saw something cute.

Virgil felt his face beginning to heat up. “Wh-What?”  
Patton held a finger to his lips. “It’s a surprise!” There was a mischievous glint in his eyes. Virgil couldn’t stop his heart from racing. But then Patton’s voice echoed in his mind. _‘Your turn.’_

***

“... Patton?”

“Yes, Virgil?”

“... Why are we making flower crowns?”

Patton giggled, placing his first crown on his head. “Because they’re so cute!”

Virgil had to agree. Patton’s crown was mostly bright blue and white, matching with his favorite shirt very nicely. He had some peonies and feverfew flowers placed symmetrically along the sides, though most of it was made up of baby’s breath flowers and blue delphiniums. It was very… Patton. Innocence and hope. Nothing like the Patton in his dream…

Patton hummed as he constructed his next crown, this time making it rainbow-colored. He was only just starting it, but Virgil could already tell it was going to be impressive. His hand moved swiftly, his eyes never leaving his creation. His tongue was stuck in the side of his cheek as a look of determination crossed his face. He was absolutely mesmerizing. Patton had a talent for creation, even if he wasn’t Creativity. Virgil watched him for a while, until he realized he hadn’t made any progress and needed to focus on the task at hand.

“... Why are we making so many of them, though?” Virgil looked at the dozen crowns lying all over the living room floor. “There’s only six of us.”

“Extras!” Patton exclaimed. “It gives more variety. What if you feel like blue one day and green the next? You gotta have plenty!”

Virgil shrugged. He didn’t really plan on wearing them that much, but he wouldn’t tell Patton that. He did enjoy making them, though. It was a relaxing task he could put his mind to work with — making sure the wire was the right size, wrapping the greenery around it, carefully attaching the flowers and making sure they looked right… He almost forgot Patton was there, until their eyes met and he fought to suppress the heat enveloping his cheeks. He stared down at his work instead.

His first crown used purple statice flowers and had a black band. His second crown was black roses with a few reds in the middle, like Shadow The Hedgehog, and his third was simply bronze. Sometimes simplicity could be just as nice.

“... And, it’s a family bonding experience.” Patton’s eyes softened. Virgil could feel the silence in the air again, suffocating. “Something’s wrong, kiddo. I can tell. You know you can trust me with anything, right?”

Virgil just stared.

“Virge?” Patton picked up the crown between them and cocked his head to the side. In Virgil’s eyes, Patton had just pulled the knife out of Deceit’s head and turned to look at him. He stopped breathing. Patton looked concerned. He smiled in what he hoped was comfort, and crawled toward Virgil. But all Virgil saw was the grin of a man ready to murder.

 ** _“STAY BACK!”_** He screamed, causing Patton to freeze. Virgil crawled backwards, smashing some of the flowers. **_“STAY BACK!”_**

“Virgil, please, I just want to know what’s wrong—”

**_“YOU KNOW WHAT’S WRONG! YOU’RE A MONSTER!”_ **

Tears filled Patton’s eyes. “I… Kiddo, I don’t know what you’re talking—”

 ** _“LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE US ALONE! DECEIT! DECEIT!”_** Virgil gasped for air. He crawled backwards until his back hit the wall. Patton moved to comfort him, but someone shoved him to the side. He lost his balance and fell onto his side, dropping his glasses and landing on something soft. He shifted to his side and reached underneath, picking up the crown that had been Virgil’s favorite. He felt around for his glasses, and suddenly Logan was there, handing them to him. Patton thanked him, though he wasn’t sure if Logan heard over the sounds of Virgil’s continued screams.

Patton put his glasses on and looked up. Deceit and Remus were at Virgil’s side; Deceit’s hands were on Virgil’s shoulders and he was speaking calmly, but Virgil wasn’t listening to him. He kept shouting for Deceit, kept begging Patton to leave, and started screaming murder threats. Even Remus looked concerned, glancing back at Patton in… fear?

“What did you do…?” Logan murmured in Patton’s ear. Patton blinked. He hadn’t done anything! … Had he?

“Logan, what’s-- what’s wrong with him? What do we do?” Roman asked, staring at Virgil in horror. He’d never seen him this distraught. Logan shook his head; he had no clue how to fix this.

 ** _“Please, please, don’t— Deceit—”_** Virgil reached forward, his eyes unfocused and blurred with tears. Deceit frowned, realizing that Patton’s presence wasn’t helping. He picked up Virgil and held him in his arms bridal-style, as Virgil wrapped his arms around Deceit’s neck and cried. Deceit sent Patton a glare, and warned, “I _won’t_ be back later for an explanation.” He marched for the door to the dark side, with a confused Remus at his heels.

Patton stared down at Virgil’s flower crown in his hands. Memories of a happy Virgil flooded through his mind -- memories of baking cookies, of watching Disney movies and snuggling up close. Memories of gentle kisses to the forehead, of loving words and bright smiles. Something told him he wouldn’t be making more anytime soon.

_‘I love you too, Pop Star.’_

He hunched over the flower crown and wept.


	2. A Logical Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the shorter, less detailed chapter that took way too long to come out. I actually had it almost completely written months ago, but I was unsatisfied with it, so I started working on the third instead.  
> Every chapter for this story is now outlined, and all of the rest should be significantly longer than this one. I can't make any promises about the fourth chapter coming out this month, but I AM writing a lot more frequently now that the coronavirus is keeping me at home.  
> Please check the note at the end of this chapter about my Sanders Sides College AU. Most of my time this week writing has been spent on that. Book one won't come out for several months, so if you have any ideas, quotes, or characters you'd like to make a casual appearance, let me know!  
> The next chapter for this story will also be out today, probably in a couple minutes. I hope you enjoy!

For the life of him, Logan couldn’t tell you what happened.

Emotions had been running strong, and he couldn’t find a logical reason for Virgil’s panicking. Patton seemed just as confused as he was. When Deceit and Remus took off toward the dark side, taking an incapacitated Virgil with them, a spell of silence seemed to sweep across the room. Patton and Roman jumped when Remus slammed the dark side’s door shut behind him, causing a picture frame of their full famILY on the wall to shake.

Logan knew he wouldn’t do any good trying to follow the former dark sides, so he turned to Patton. In one quick glance Logan realized he wouldn’t get any information out of him, either. Patton was staring down at the flower crown in his hands, purple statice flowers on a black band, smushed from his fall. His eyes were shimmering, and before Logan could say a word, Patton hunched in on himself and began sobbing.

***

It was the holiday season, and cheer had been spreading through the house. Logan had to admit, even he was affected by the joyous mood that swept through the air. He was always focused on Thomas, of course, but Thomas was also infected by the spirit of Christmas, and he didn’t seem to be in need of his services. It left Logan with plenty of free time. Though he would deny it to the others, he was relieved whenever the holiday season approached. He enjoyed being able to relax with a cup of tea or hot chocolate and engage his mind in puzzles, books, or documentaries by the warmth of a fire. Often Logan was so absorbed in his activities that he didn’t notice anyone else.

That was the excuse he gave himself for not noticing anything out of place.

Though, looking back, he might not have found anything there to begin with, until breakfast that one day. But by that time, something had already occurred, something he could not trace further back to its roots. Virgil had seemed… scared of Patton. But why would he ever fear Patton? The two had a strong relationship, stronger than any of the others. What could have changed Virgil’s opinion of him so drastically?

He’d been the first to notice, but speaking up hadn’t helped. “Virgil? Virgil, are you okay?” he remembered asking at the kitchen table, and everyone turned to gawk at the purple-clad embodiment of anxiety, trembling and holding his fork like it was a weapon. His eyes were opened wide and glazed over, staring down at his plate as if it held a terrible truth, and his chest was puffing in and out. Logan narrowed his eyes, predicting an explosive emotional response toward Roman and Patton, who were approaching Virgil, the former more hesitantly. Patton’s hand touched Virgil’s shoulder, and that was enough to make him lose it.

**_“GET AWAY FROM ME!”_ **

The scream made Patton jump. They all cried out warnings as Virgil’s chair fell backwards and he collided with the ground. Logan moved forward to help but Virgil didn’t seem physically injured, and with his emotional state, it wouldn’t do any good to get any closer.

Deceit seemed to realize the same thing. He had stepped forward on impulse, but now had his arms extended to each side, blocking off Roman and Remus from trying to approach the fallen side. “Virgil, are you all right?” he’d asked, but Virgil didn’t answer his question. His breathing was erratic, like he’d just run a race, and Logan mumbled, “Everyone, give him some space.” Everyone stepped back, except for Patton. Virgil’s eyes landed on his face, and his expression turned dark. “You stay away from them. Stay away from me. Or I-I’ll hurt you.”

Logan wondered who he meant by ‘them’. The other sides? Or did he mean something else; personal possessions Patton might have touched or gotten a hold of, when no one was looking? Logan looked to Patton for a hint of context, though Patton’s voice sounded just as confused.

“Virge…”   
Virgil jumped to his feet, pointing at Patton with an intense gaze.  **_“I will hurt you.”_ ** Then he turned around and stormed up to his room, leaving everyone in a state of shock.

Deceit was the first to recover. He marched up to Patton and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders. The moral side winced, feeling the tension in his bones as Deceit squeezed. “What did you do to him.”

“Wh-What did I do…? I didn’t do anything…” Patton sniffed, then paused, thinking back through the past few days. “Did I…?”

“Think harder,” Remus instructed with a manic grin on his face. He’d summoned his morningstar and was holding it high in the air, poised to strike.

“I-I honestly don’t know!” Patton whimpered, his gaze swooping back to Deceit, who fell dead silent. He was staring into his eyes, as if testing for truthfulness. Finally he let Patton go and walked over to Remus, placing a hand on his right shoulder. “That’s enough, Remus. I don’t think he’s lying.” Remus begrudgingly dropped his weapon, poofing it away with the snap of his fingers before it hit the floor.

“... What  _ was  _ that?” Roman whispered. Normally he would’ve been the first to stop Remus from threatening his famILY, but he was still in shock from the look on Virgil’s face. Sure, Virgil got upset or angry from time to time, but it was almost  _ never  _ directed at Patton, and  _ never  _ with that level of intensity.

“... He’s hurting,” Patton murmured, mostly to himself, but Logan heard him. Patton wrapped his arms around himself and walked out of the kitchen, clearly in deep thought. Logan followed him until it was clear he wasn’t going after Virgil again — just to his room to ponder alone over what just happened. Logan retreated to his own room, and after checking up on Thomas (who he found giddily taste-testing some holiday recipes from one of his friends), he was sucked up into the relaxing holiday cheer, and his thoughts turned away from the developing problem between his fellow sides.

***

Sometime after Deceit and Remus had disappeared with Virgil, Logan finally managed to collect his thoughts, coming to the conclusion that the whole incident was brought about by a misunderstanding on Virgil’s part. It wasn’t unheard of for the embodiment of anxiety to jump to hasty and fearful conclusions, after all. And he just couldn’t see Patton doing anything on purpose to mentally scar  _ anyone _ , let alone  _ Virgil _ .

By the time Logan had a game plan and pulled his focus back to reality, Roman had snapped at Patton demanding an answer, which only served to make the moral side curl in on himself more. Roman paced the room, tapping his arm anxiously, until he caught Logan’s eye and stopped. “Well, Professor Placid, what’s our next step?”

Logan sighed, adjusting his glasses. “Well, I see only one way to go about solving this. Patton, for now, you will stay away from Virgil and the dark side, until Virgil, Deceit, and I agree otherwise. You understand why, right?”

Sullenly, Patton nodded.   
“I agree as well,” Roman stated, looking away from Patton. His arms were crossed.

“You too, Roman.”

The creative side made an offended sound. “What?!”

“You and Patton are both very passionate and emotional, which is not what Virgil needs right now. Had Remus been here, I would have tried to forbid him too, but—”   
“There’s no telling Remus what to do,” Roman interrupted with an eye roll. “I know. Still—!”

“He’s right, Roman.” Roman shot Patton a look of betrayal.

“You’re agreeing with him?!”

Patton looked down at the floor and mumbled, “I just don’t want to mess anything up by accident… I just want Virgil to feel better… Even if it means I can’t be around him, I…” He looked up at Logan with tear-filled eyes. “Logan, c-can you… please find out what went wrong…? What I did?”

Logan softened. “Of course.”

***   
  
Deceit passed by the door and caught sight of the folded piece of paper on the floor. Eyes narrowed, he picked it up and silently read its contents as he walked over to the couch where Virgil slept. He scowled. Remus, who was peeking from behind the couch, sat up tall.

“Who’s it from? What’s it say?”

“Logan.” Deceit huffed and placed himself on the armchair, crossing one leg over the other as he gazed thoughtfully at the note. “‘Dear Deceit, I have spoken with Patton, and while it seems he was the cause of the incident, we believe the source was some sort of accident or misinterpretation, since he cannot explain what he did to elicit such a strong reaction.’ Why, of  _ course _ , they all think Morality can do no wrong.”

“Keep reading. I wanna hear what Logy has to say.”

Deceit raised an eyebrow but continued. “‘Nevertheless, we will keep our minds open until Virgil is stable and willing to tell us. As for now, we have agreed that Patton and Roman will stay away from your side for now.’ Hmph. Those two  _ aren’t  _ as stubborn as bricks. They  _ won’t  _ be knocking on our door by tomorrow.”

“Dee.”

“Fine. ‘I would appreciate it if you could let me know when he wakes up and you’ve spoken, and whatever important details you learn from him, so we can solve this matter smoothly and efficiently.’”

Remus leaned over the couch and booped Virgil’s nose. “I dunno about you, but this doesn’t seem like a smooth or efficient fixing to me.”

“Well, that’s one thing we  _ can’t  _ agree on,” Deceit sighed. “‘Please keep an eye on Virgil and let me know if there is anything I can do. Sincerely, Logan.’” He ripped up the letter into tiny pieces and dropped them on the floor. Then he walked over to Virgil’s sleeping body, gently brushing the hair out of his face with an unreadable expression.

“... Sooooo, what’s the plan, snakey boy? We’re not sending him back over to Morality when he wakes up, are we?”

Deceit thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m not allowing Virgil near any of the light sides until I’m positive he will be safe. I’ll let Virgil explain what happened to us. I’m  _ sure  _ he’ll give that information up easily.” He sighed. “Whatever it takes to protect him.”

Deceit had known years ago that Virgil would be hurt if he let him join the light sides, and he’d been proven right. Now he would make sure it never happened again. Deceit was, in part, Self-Preservation, and this was where he put his foot down. Patton wouldn’t lay a finger on him, not on his watch.

“I will do whatever it takes,” Deceit murmured more softly, running his fingers through Virgil’s hair protectively. Remus didn’t doubt it one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.quotev.com/story/12286900/Sanders-Sides-Stories-One-Shots/9
> 
> [News for Sanders Sides fans: I'm working on a massive four-book college AU! Would you like to create original characters to make minor or major appearances? Would you just like a name to be featured as an easter egg? Or do you have any ideas you'd like me to slip in? Leave me a comment or go to my profile. Follow this link for more information, and shoot me a message on Quotev! If you don't have a Quotev account, you can contact me through the comments here or by emailing Zukithechosenone@gmail.com.]


	3. Nostalgia and Past Regrets

Patton’s room was soft and fuzzy, but not in the way of blankets and stuffed animals. (He had a fair more than the other sides, sure, but that wasn’t the point.)

No; his room was full of soft and fuzzy  _ feelings _ , tickling him with memories of the past, good and bad. Nostalgia had a constant hold on every photo, every object, every thought. Patton himself was overwhelmed with conflicting, unyielding emotions of every sort whenever he set foot in his room for the night; that was why he stayed up so late checking on the others, working on puzzles, making cookies, watching movies… He never wanted to retreat to his room, because he knew that if he wasn’t in the absolute  _ best  _ mood doing so, he’d be crying himself to sleep.

Now that Virgil was gone, and everyone looked at him like he was some kind of monster, Patton was confined to his room in his worst possible state.

When Roman knocked softly on his door, he couldn’t even hear him. He was going through his fourth round of loud, heart-clenching, uncontrollable sobbing. He was hidden under a pile of five of his nicest ‘feel-good’ blankets, but they weren’t doing him any favors. His glasses were thrown across the room, making his vision twice as blurry with the tears in his eyes, and the only sound he could hear was his own cries.

“Patton?” Roman’s voice was gentle, but it couldn’t reach him. “Patton, please come out.”

Even if he  _ had  _ heard Roman, he wouldn’t have listened. Patton didn’t want to come out if it meant the possibility of causing more problems for everyone. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. He didn’t know how he  _ could’ve  _ hurt anyone.

But as his worst memories and nightmares sprang from his room’s atmosphere and into his head, pulling out of him another grief-filled cry, he started wondering if it wasn’t an action, but his whole existence that was the problem.

***

Virgil knew something was wrong when he woke up alone on a couch, not his bed. He sat up with a jolt, lifting his hands and feet where he could see them, relieved to find they weren’t cuffed. He started looking around the room, surprised he couldn’t find any family photos hanging up, or any of Roman’s artwork lying on the coffee table.

… Actually, there  _ wasn’t  _ a coffee table.

His heart started pumping a little faster than usual. His brain started running, trying to trace his memory back to the last moment he could recall, but then he heard a body shift behind him and his eyes shot wide open. He nearly shot himself across the room in one jump when suddenly the body behind him screamed, “VIRGIL!!!” and threw itself onto him.

Virgil yelped as he was pushed down into the couch by the other side, whose hands had him pinned down on his back. Virgil pushed against him desperately, but then he stopped as the telltale smell of deodorant breath hit his face. He scrunched up his nose and finally met the eyes of his assailant.

Remus was looking down on him with an impossibly wide grin. That grin always used to send Virgil on edge, but this time, it calmed him down. He surprised himself when his first rational thought was,  _ ‘At least he’s okay.’ _ Even so, he put a hand on the Duke’s chest and pushed him off.

But Remus just bounced right back, invading his personal bubble again as he dropped himself into Virgil’s lap and threw his legs over the back of the couch. Virgil raised an eyebrow; he was still as dramatic as ever. The creative twins sure had their similarities.

“Virgey, Virgey!” Remus’s eyes bore into his own. They were wild, like so many thoughts were racing through his mind that he couldn’t just concentrate on one. Virgil knew the feeling. “Did you know that praying mantises bite off the heads of their mates and devour their bodies? Did you know turtles actually have enormous dicks and squeak when they’re having sex? Did you know there’s a venomous spider on your arm?”

Virgil flinched and frantically started checking his arms (he liked spiders, but venom,  _ no thank you _ ), but Remus’s cackling told him it was just a prank. He huffed and pulled himself back onto the arm of the chair, dropping the Duke’s head half a foot onto the couch. Remus fell backwards and landed on his knees on the floor, grinning up at Virgil like nothing had happened.

“Aww, Virgey’s just as easy to scare as ever!” Virgil glared at him, but he seemed unaffected. “Come on, take a chill pill, Anxy. Deedee’s prolly gonna kick me out, too, if you keep glaring like that.”

Virgil’s eyes exploded with sudden panic. “Deceit. Where’s Deceit?”

“He’s in the kitchen,” Remus answered. He was lying on his back now, doing alternating leg lifts while he tapped the floor along to the rhythm of some song Virgil probably knew, but didn’t care enough to figure it out. “I’m supposed to watch over you and not scare you and tell him when you wake up. Which I should probably do now, but this is fun, right? It’s been forever since we’ve had any  _ bonding  _ time!”

Virgil ignored him. He jumped to his feet and started walking toward the kitchen, but he only made two strides before Remus was in front of him, holding his arms against his sides and looking at him, annoyed.

“Let go of me!” Virgil hissed.

“Nope! You lay back down;  _ I’ll  _ go get daddio!” Remus pushed him back, making Virgil stumble and nearly fall back onto the couch. Remus turned and started heading for the kitchen. Watching him walk away, Virgil’s panic set in.

“No!” he cried, latching onto the Duke’s right arm. Remus froze, and turned to eye the anxious side.

“What, you’ll miss me that much?” he asked jokingly, but he could tell from Virgil’s down-turned face that this wasn’t the time for jokes.

_ Virgil shook his head as images of Remus flooded through his head — sword-fighting with Roman, watching movies with him and Deceit, pulling pranks on the other sides with that enthusiastic twinkle in his wild eyes. Remus chained up to a wall, all alone and covered in blood and tears, while no one even knew he was gone. _

Without thinking, Virgil leapt into Remus’s side and hid his face in his shirt. The other side automatically wrapped his arm around him, pulling him closer.

Remus cleared his throat. “Okay...”

Virgil’s stomach felt sick. He knew the other side deserved an explanation. But before he could even try to think of how to word it, Remus was facing away from him again and screaming through the house.

“Double Dee! Virgey’s up!” Remus yelled in a sing-songy tone. At the mention of Deceit, Virgil’s head jerked up and his nails dug into the Remus’s shirt. He heard quick steps from somewhere down the hallway and suddenly there he was, his face as cool as ever, but his eyes soft with concern. Virgil’s fear almost completely faded away, shoulders lowering as the tension drifted out of him with a low breath. He almost wished he was a child so he could just lift up his arms and be taken into Deceit’s loving hold, where he could always feel safe and never worry about being separated, never worry about his friends, his family, being endangered.

Deceit met Remus’s eyes once, asking some silent question, but Remus just shrugged, so he pulled his attention fully towards Virgil. He slowly stepped closer, careful not to overstep any boundaries. “Virgil, how are you feeling?”

Virgil didn’t answer; he was out of Remus’s arms before he knew what he was doing, charging at Deceit with all his speed. Deceit only had two seconds to read the anguish in Virgil’s dark eyes before he was on him, and he just barely had enough time to open his arms for Virgil to come barreling into. Their arms wrapped around one another — Virgil’s tight and desperate, Deceit’s firm but soothing. His little storm cloud started murmuring, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” over and over again and making him not only confused but also worried.

“It’s fine,” Deceit shushed him, slowly leading him back to the couch. They curled up together in the center, Deceit’s arm wrapped around Virgil, pulling him in close.

“I’m sorry for leaving,” Virgil exclaimed, and Deceit’s body tensed at the subject. He glanced up just in time to see Remus, who was now standing behind the couch again, twitch and turn away. “I’m sorry for being so rude to you. I knew it hurt — I was treated the same way by them in the beginning, I shouldn’t have gotten so defensive, I’m sorry —”

“Shh. It’s in the past.”

“It’s not okay… I know they didn’t like you and I didn’t say anything, I let them hate you, I —”

“Virgil.” Deceit caressed the anxious side’s right cheek with his palm. Virgil leaned into the touch. “I’m  _ not  _ more worried about you right now. I’d rather know what — or who — hurt you than hear an apology.” Virgil wouldn’t meet his eyes, so Deceit held his chin and gently turned his head to face him. “What happened?”

Virgil closed his eyes and leaned in closer, nuzzling his head against Deceit’s shoulder. “... Can you sense truths, as well as lies?” Deceit was even more confused; Virgil elaborated him before he could ask for clarification. “If someone isn’t… mentally stable… or, if they believe in what they’re saying when it’s not true… then would you sense it as a lie?”

Deceit shook his head. “I  _ can  _ understand unless you give me an example.”

Virgil’s voice dropped to a whisper. “... If someone said they were innocent of something, and fully believed they were in the right, but they weren’t…?”

Deceit was glad Virgil wasn’t looking at him right then, because his face curled into a sneer as Patton’s face danced through the back of his mind. Just then, he felt another weight on the couch, and looked over to find Remus had his arms wrapped around Virgil and had his face dug into the other’s armpit. Deceit expected Virgil to jump or try to crawl away from him, but was surprised to hear a sigh of contentment from  _ both  _ of the boys, as they scooted around to get comfortable.

Deceit mentally transferred his list of tasks for the day to the next, realizing he wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon. He, too, wriggled around until he was in a suitable position for a nap.

They ended up laying down with Deceit lying on his back, Virgil on his side squished between him and the couch, and Remus laying sprawled across the both of them, arms and legs spread wide. Deceit opened his eyes once to see Remus’s soft sleeping face and Virgil’s cozy smile. He would do anything to protect these two. Anything.

And if Patton hurt Virgil somehow, he didn’t care who believed in him; he wasn’t sending Virgil back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.quotev.com/story/12286900/Sanders-Sides-Stories-One-Shots/9
> 
> [News for Sanders Sides fans: I'm working on a massive four-book college AU! Would you like to create original characters to make minor or major appearances? Would you just like a name to be featured as an easter egg? Or do you have any ideas you'd like me to slip in? Leave me a comment or go to my profile. Follow this link for more information, and shoot me a message on Quotev! If you don't have a Quotev account, you can contact me through the comments here or by emailing Zukithechosenone@gmail.com.]


	4. Families and Accidents

Virgil hadn’t been down in the “dark side” for years, but now that he was there and living with Deceit and Remus again, it was hard to remember why he even left.

Well, he knew why. One taste of the warmth and love from Patton, and the satisfaction of finally having Thomas’s acknowledgement, and Virgil wanted  _ more _ . It wasn’t that Deceit and Remus were cruel to him or anything to push him away.

It  _ was  _ true that Remus often went way too far with his pranks and scare tactics. For many years of Thomas’s life, Virgil had been legitimately afraid of Remus. He tried to avoid him as much as possible, especially when Deceit wasn’t there to stop him from building onto Virgil’s anxiety. Even now, with the memories of Remus jumping out at him out of nowhere with devilish screams, or greeting him with a cut-off tongue in his hand, Virgil was hesitant to just stand close to him.

But even if he was still a  _ tad  _ bit afraid, Virgil knew that at least he didn’t  _ hate  _ him. It was hard to hate someone who wanted to cuddle every day.

And Deceit wasn’t too bad, either. Deceit could be cold and closed-off, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care for them. Virgil knew, without a doubt, that Deceit  _ did  _ care. He always made sure the two of them ate and slept, even when Remus had a burst of mania and only wanted to create, and when Virgil was so nervous he could barely function. Deceit was there when Virgil needed him, when he had nightmares, when Remus took a joke a step too far. Deceit just had a very…  _ indirect  _ way of showing affection. Which, in the past, had made it easy to pretend it didn’t exist.

In a way, they had been a family. A strange one, but a family nonetheless. A family that understood him, one that he fit into easily with his edgy appearance and personality. But Virgil wanted to be better than the person he was. He wanted better than Deceit and Remus.

In a way, it was Patton who inspired him to leave. And the reason he was back involved Patton, too.

Virgil spent the next several days reminding himself of and adapting to life in the dark side. It was a lot quieter when Remus wasn’t around, and  _ so much _ louder when he was. Deceit didn’t hide away as often as he used to, though, instead spending most of his time in the living room. Virgil suspected it was to keep watch over him. But he didn’t really mind; seeing Deceit and Remus often was more soothing than it used to be in the past. The only downside was, it reminded him of how stupid he’d been. He didn’t even want to imagine how pathetic he’d looked in front of everyone during his panic attack.

Keeping his mind off that stupid dream made it easier to convince himself of what was real and what was not, and he was actually able to relax for once. He watched horror and mystery shows with Deceit in the middle of the day, and movies with both him and Remus late at night. Their favorite movies to watch were Tim Burton movies. Remus’s favorites were  _ Edward Scissorhands _ and  _ Beetlejuice _ . Deceit didn’t say much, but Virgil thought he looked most invested during  _ 9 _ . For Virgil, however,  _ The Nightmare Before Christmas _ could never be beat. He empathized with Jack’s interest in this new, more light-hearted world, and related to the trouble he unintentionally caused the people of Christmastown. And Halloweentown just had the most pleasing, relaxing aesthetic, reminding him of the comfort of his room.

One night, the three of them fell asleep during the movie, and he woke up to find himself in a cuddle pile. As he tried to maneuver out of it, he found himself wishing Remus was twenty pounds lighter. Or that he could at least not lie on top of them every single night.

Somehow, Virgil managed to get out without waking them up completely, and he smirked at the sight of a drooling Remus sleepily shuffling himself into Deceit’s arms. He wished he had his phone to snap a photo of it. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Virgil wondered if he could sneak away to his room to grab his things; he wondered if Deceit would stop him, or if he’d run into one of the others. He wondered how much longer he wanted to stay down here, how much longer he could push off a confrontation with the light sides.

But, most of all, he wondered what was happening upstairs.

***

Roman and Logan forcefully dragged Patton out of his room and forbade him from staying in there all day. He’d changed into his cat onesie and Roman plopped him down on the living room couch to watch a movie. Logan forced him to eat scrambled eggs and toast, and didn’t let him curl up into his blanket until he drank half a cup of orange juice.

They kept him busy solving puzzles and watching movies, baking and making friendship bracelets, but every time they were in the kitchen, Patton would look up at the top of the fridge where the flower crowns were placed, and then he’d fall uncomfortably quiet. There were instances when Patton could pull himself together and put on his usual smile when he spent time with the others, focusing his attention on them rather than himself, but those little moments of silence from him broke whatever sense of unity and peace they’d had.

When Patton looked up at the flower crowns, all he could think about was how much he missed Virgil, and how much emptier the light side was now that he and the others were gone. Patton even started to miss Remus and Deceit; as much trouble as they could be, they were a part of his family. They’d grown in his heart, and it felt ripped apart now that his family was split in half. He missed them all, though he knew there was no sense in crying about it. Still, his emotions got the better of him, often leaving him curled up under a blanket watching Disney movies for hours. When a few days passed with no word from Deceit or the others, Roman and Logan both knew something needed to be done. Roman, who had been pacing in the living room, was the one to run out of patience first.

He groaned and threw up his hands. His feet changed direction, toward the staircase instead of the opposite wall where he was pacing. “That’s it. I’m going into the imagination.”

Patton looked up at that. “Be careful.” Roman didn’t respond, stomping all the way up the stairs, as if to prove a point. Patton solemnly stared at his feet as the room went quiet; it would have been silent, if not for the cheery music playing in  _ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone _ . Logan sighed and leaned back in his armchair to watch the movie for what felt like the three hundred and ninety fourth time in his existence.

***

The imagination was a wondrous, exhilarating place that removed all of Roman’s fears and doubt. Stepping through the portal in his room into a fantasy world where all his creations could run free never failed to ease his worries. Roman’s side of the imagination was a beautiful mix of natural colors under a pastel sky. Years of careful attention to detail had created pine tree forests and pink sunrises, palm tree beaches and blue moons, constellations he’d read about in astronomy books and constellations telling stories of his own fabrication. Roman created his own kingdom, his own villages, and carefully sculpted hundreds of characters, all with their own personalities, jobs, and histories. Thomas was the king of the kingdom — not that he was ever there or even knew about it; it was just for naming’s sake — and Roman was the prince who attended to every one of his people’s concerns. He loved seeing the adoration on their faces as he came galloping into their towns on a beautiful white stallion.

Roman entered through the portal and arrived in his personal castle chamber. He sighed as he snapped himself into his riding gear, calling in a servant to prepare his horse and send a raven to Remus’s side of the imagination. His relationship with his brother was… complicated, and he wasn’t looking forward to this confrontation; they usually ended in fights that had one of the two brothers stabbed through the side and spitting out blood in the other’s face.

But Virgil was his friend, and facing his brother for him was worth it.

***

“... Logan…” Logan turned. Patton was curled up in a ball on the couch, looking down at the blanket his body was wrapped up in. “... You know I love Virgil, right?”

Logan’s eye softened. “Of course.”

“... Doesn’t he know that?” There was a tremor in the moral side’s voice. Logan pulled himself up from his seat and placed himself beside Patton, keeping a few inches worth of space between them.

“I believe he does. There would be no reason for him not to.”

“... Then…?”

“You’re certain you have no idea what happened between you? None at all?”

“I don’t know,” Patton insisted, his voice cracking. His body leaned to the side until he fell against Logan. Logan sucked in a nervous breath, unused to the physical contact, but he didn’t move. “Sorry, Lo. Am I putting too much pressure on you?”

“No,” he responded. “I’m just as set on resolving this matter as you are.”

“... Lo, are you mad at me too?”

Logan shook his head. “I’m not mad at you, Patton. And I don’t believe Roman or Virgil truly is, either. You should try to relax; too much stress is unhealthy and it could affect Thomas as well.”

“I can’t relax without knowing Virge is okay.”

“He will be fine,” Logan promised. “You may not get along with Deceit, but he wouldn’t hurt Virgil. And, if I may be frank, I believe this incident is negatively impacting  _ you  _ more than anyone else.”

Patton fidgeted with his blankets, making sure every inch of him below his head was covered. He closed his eyes with his head resting against Logan’s shoulder. “Thanks, kiddo. I don’t deserve you.”

Logan frowned and hesitantly wrapped an arm around Patton’s frame. As foreign as such emotional contact was for him, he knew its benefits in getting through to Patton. He ignored the feeling of  _ rightness  _ that tingled inside of him as he pulled Patton closer. “That’s not true.”

***

It was when Roman’s horse was galloping across the border into Remus’s side of the imagination that he saw him, laying back-side up on top of his horse with his feet waving back and forth in the air, in the middle of a desert town. Roman had to admit, this place seemed rather…  _ calm  _ for Remus’s side of the imagination. Typically the weather was stormy, the sky was dark, the sounds of the woods were eerie and full of cracking sticks and rustling leaves — but this was a normal-looking, Western cowboy-movie-style town in the middle of nowhere. There weren’t even any monsters around — not that he could see, at least. The only thing that made him nervous was his brother’s wide grin, the fierce appearance of his brother’s black stallion, and the absolute emptiness of the town itself.

“Ro-Ro! It’s so good to see you! How’ve you been, brother mine?” Remus asked, rolling off the side of his horse. Roman frowned, refusing to climb off of his own just yet.

“Fine. How is Virgil?”

Remus’s face looked almost sad, but his voice was teasing. “Aww, you’re not here to hang out like the old times? That’s a shame. I picked out my best horse and weapon for this.” He raised his morningstar up in the air as proof, while his horse snorted.

Roman felt uneasy. He’d brought his favorite sword and horse, too — but only for his protection, not because he was looking for a fight. Sometimes the little similarities between him and the Duke bothered him in a way he couldn’t explain.

“I’m not here to play games with you. Answer my question,” Roman demanded. Remus looked annoyed.

“Oh, come on, princey. One little fight? For old time’s sake?”

“Shut up! What have the two of you done with Virgil?! Answer me or I’ll go find out myself.”

“Yeah, no.” Remus snapped his fingers and suddenly Roman was falling to the ground. He landed in the sand and could immediately feel the graininess covering his exposed skin. He pulled himself up to his feet and brushed himself off.

“Where is my horse?!”

“It’s fine, relax. I sent mine back with it, see?” He was right; Remus’s horse had vanished, too, but that didn’t ease his worries in the slightest. Something was off-putting about Remus’s horse, in the same way that there was always something off-putting about Remus, and he didn’t trust it alone with his favorite horse. “I’ll send it back to you unharmed if you play my little game! If not…” He shrugged. Roman tried to push back his anger.

“This isn’t about you, you selfish—! This is only making you even more suspicious! Why aren’t you telling me about Virgil? Have you done something to him?!”

Remus sighed. “Look, Roman, I’m not dodging your question to be an ass. And as much as I like butts, Double-Dee isn’t being one, either.”

“What do you mean?”

“I  _ mean  _ that we’re protecting Virgil from the rest of you. So you don’t need to worry.”

Roman still looked confused. “Protecting him from u-? Why wouldn’t he be safe with us?!”

“Don’t ask me. You saw what happened the other day.” Roman crossed his arms and looked away with a grimace.

“That wasn’t — I don’t know what happened, but I’ll protect him from whatever it was.”

“Sorry, princey, that’s not going to happen.” Remus twirled his morningstar behind his head. “Virgil has been just fine down there with us, and Deedee doesn’t think it’s a good idea so send him back up.”

Roman scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. Remus, I demand to see him for myself.”

“Nope~ Can’t let you do that.”

“I WILL see him!” Roman tried to step past his brother toward his castle. He might not be able to create a portal to the dark side itself, as the door was locked, but he could use his brother’s portal to get through.

But Remus wouldn’t let him, instead holding his morningstar out in Roman’s path.

“Go on and try.” He grinned with a maniacal gleam in his eyes. Their eyes met, and Roman had only a second to jump backwards before the weapon slammed into him.

He dodged it just barely, unsheathing his sword in time to block Remus’s second strike with the blade. “Come on, bro, this is just childish!” Roman yelled. “Let me see Virgil!”

“Hmm, you know, you’re not really sounding all that convincing.”

“Shut up!” Roman went on the offensive then, striking at Remus twice in his blind fury. Remus cackled and deflected each blow, jumping backwards with each attempted jab.

“Is that the best you can do? You’re a weak knight, Roman. You haven’t been training. Too many of Patton’s cookies make you soft?” Remus taunted. Roman yelled and chased after him, but Remus was much faster. Then again, Remus had always been faster; his energy in his everyday life was unmatched. “Soft and chubby? Is that the type he’s into now?” Roman swung and missed. But he was close to cornering Remus against the side of the two-story town hall building, and once he did so, his speed wouldn’t be able to help him anymore.

Remus didn’t seem to realize it until his back hit the wall. Roman swung his sword and it clashed with his morningstar inches from his face. Remus grinned at the utter rage on Roman’s face — and the proximity. “Getting kinda close, huh, bro? Gotta say, I knew you swung that way, but not ALL that way.” Roman’s anger gave him a push, and he launched forward, pressing the blunt end of his sword against his brother’s chest. Remus dropped his morningstar with a yelp as the sword’s edge cut into his hand.

A dark feeling of satisfaction arose in Roman. “I win.”

Remus just laughed. “Win what?” His face was full of amusement, like he’d forgotten why they were fighting. Roman almost had, too; he blinked and recalled his reason for being there.

Roman pushed his brother away and started to walk off. “The right to see Virgil.”

Before he could get in another step, Remus tackled him from behind. Roman lost hold of his sword and started spinning to try and knock his brother off. He only managed to trip himself, sending them both into the sand.

They were a mess, rolling around and trying to knock the other off while getting sand all over their clothes and in their hair. They threw wild kicks and punches while the other tried to pin them down, giving each other what would surely be nasty bruises later on. Roman finally got on top, pinning his brother completely. “There! It’s over,” he snapped. Remus just grinned up at him, in that stupid way that made Roman’s blood boil.

Roman stood up, dragging his brother with him, holding him by the wrists so he couldn’t grab onto him. “Now, leave me alone this time! I don’t want to  _ play  _ with you. I’m going to see Virgil so Logan and Patton don’t have to worry about whether he’s safe, and I’m going to get to the bottom of this. I don’t have  _ time  _ for your games. So leave me  _ alone _ .”

He pushed Remus backwards with as much force as he could muster, not thinking a thing of it.

But then he noticed one very small detail, and time crawled to a stop.

He just barely caught sight of movement outside his peripheral, and realized a rather large, poorly placed brick was tipping over the edge of the two-story building, just above his brother. (Because, of course it was. Roman forgot they were on  _ Remus’s  _ side of the imagination. Who knew what other subtle, deadly traps were in place.)

Even though he knew it probably wouldn’t do much harm, his first instinct, as the prince, was to warn him. “Remus! Look out!” He reached a hand out to grab his brother, but it was too late; Remus fell flat on his back and immediately started to sit up, just as the brick fell down from the roof above, accelerated due to gravity, and slammed right into the top of his head. Roman winced as he heard the thunk of the brick against his brother’s skull, causing Remus’s head to fall back down to the ground.

He half-expected his brother to sit up giggling at the irony of his imagination attacking him, but Remus didn’t move. And Remus  _ never  _ stopped moving. And he could see blood staining the sand below his brother’s head.

Roman rushed to his brother’s side, panic building in his chest. ‘Please let him be okay, please let him be okay,’ he thought desperately, as he slid to his knees beside Remus and laid his brother’s head in his lap.

Remus was conscious, but just barely. He smirked at his brother’s touch, like he wanted to make some sort of perverted joke based on the position of his head, but something stopped him. Whether he was conscious of the seriousness of his head injury or not, Roman didn’t know, but he knew that his brother was in pain when Remus whimpered. Remus didn’t  _ whimper _ . He barely let out a yelp when he was  _ stabbed _ , and even then, he would laugh about it. He didn’t  _ whimper _ , not unless the world was ending, or it was part of some crude act. But the tears in Remus’s eyes, and the blood trail leaving his mouth, didn’t seem like an act.

“Remus… Remus, I-I’m sorry, I—” Roman leaned over his body protectively, as if shielding it from the sun. He could hear his brother’s shallow breaths.

Remus just laughed, but it was a quiet, forced laugh, that Roman could barely hear. He had to lean in close just to hear his brother mumble, “Oopsy…” And then Remus’s energy left him, and his body went slack.

Roman was torn between screaming in self-directed frustration, and actually bringing Remus somewhere he could be taken care of. Sides didn’t die; they  _ couldn’t  _ die. … At least, Roman  _ hoped  _ so. They’d gotten roughed up in the imagination before, but physical injuries were usually nowhere near as bad as they could be outside. They’d stabbed each other before, sure, but the pain dulled down fast at their own will, and they  _ never  _ lost consciousness. Heck, they couldn’t even  _ drown _ . (Long story: accident at sea. Discovery: instead of blacking out, your body forms temporary gills. Impressive and mysterious.)

But no matter how hard Roman willed it, no matter how much he snapped his fingers and imagined his brother opening his eyes, Remus didn’t move.

_ Could  _ they die?

Only Logan would know.

Roman grunted as he pulled Remus into his arms and stood up. It scared him, his brother being this limp, this vulnerable. He hated it. He pulled Remus closer, murmuring, “I’ve got you. Don’t worry; I’ll bring you home, and Logan will fix you. He will. Just hang on.” He was sure that, if Remus was conscious, he’d be laughing at him right now, mocking him for being so emotional, teasing him relentlessly. But Remus wasn’t conscious.

Remus. Wasn’t.  _ Conscious _ .

Roman could hardly breathe. He’d made a big mistake, and he knew it. He didn’t know what to do now, but as long as he got Remus out of the imagination, he could figure out the next step from there. He used his nervous energy to generate a portal to the light side’s living room. Sure, there were doors to the imagination in each of their bedrooms, leading to their respective castles, but Roman was far too many miles away from his own castle, and he didn’t want his brother to have to wait one more moment.

When Roman appeared from the portal that had appeared in the living room, he found Logan and Patton were already there. Patton was sitting on the couch, being comforted by Logan, who looked to have been in the middle of some sort of explanation. His face had been as calm as ever; but when Logan raised his head to look at Roman, his eyes no longer held that cool, calculative gaze, as calm yet unyielding as the sea.

No; Logan was  _ mad _ , and his eyes were like  _ fire _ .

Logan stood up, every inch of his furious movements enough to make Roman’s panic accelerate. He had never seen Logan this angry before, and he only stepped in five seconds ago. Roman held his brother closer to his chest, protectively.

“What have you done?!” Logan demanded. Patton turned his head to see what was going on, and his eyes went from sad to terrified in an instant.

“Roman! What happened to Remus?!”

“I — I don’t know, I — it was an accident in the imagination, he hit his head —”

“Roman.” Logan narrowed his eyes. “Change him into something lighter.”

Roman hesitated before snapping his fingers, changing Remus into black boxers and a green, short-sleeved t-shirt. Logan glared at Roman, and Patton gasped. Remus’s skin was colored in what looked like old bruises.

“I’ll ask you again,” Logan said calmly. “What. Did you. Do.”

“We… might have had a little fight… It wasn’t a serious battle; I told you, I never meant any serious harm!” Roman’s voice was pleading him to understand.

“Roman. Injuries in the imagination are supposed to heal as soon as you leave the imagination.”

“I know, but — Look, those bruises just happened and they’re almost gone! See, mine are almost gone, too!” Roman pulled up his sleeve to prove it, but Logan’s eyes didn’t leave his face.

“Yes, because those were  _ minor  _ injuries. This —” Logan pointed to Remus’s head, which had dripped blood onto the couch. “ — is not. His head is  _ still  _ split open. Whatever you’ve done, was  _ serious _ .”

Roman bit his lip. “I know, I — Logan, will he be all right? Please tell me he’ll be all right.”

Logan frowned. “... I don’t know.” Patton stifled his cries. “But that’s only because of the uniqueness of this situation. I’ll know as soon as he wakes up and we can talk to him, to ensure there wasn’t any brain damage.” Roman covered his mouth with a fist. “Theoretically, that would be impossible, but… His injuries have not seemed to heal, so only time will tell.”

“Roman…?” Patton gently linked arms with him, pulling his hand away from his face. Roman looked like he was holding back angry tears. “Here. Why don’t you help me bake some cookies for Remus when he wakes up? You can give them to him when you apologize.”

“I — I want to stay here.”

“Roman. I can handle this,” Logan promised. “You need to emotionally stabilize. When you’re done, Remus will still be here, and we can all wait for him together. Go.”

Roman looked like he wanted to argue, but Patton pulled him toward the kitchen, murmuring, “Come on, kiddo.” He finally relented, and the two left the room.

Logan sighed, gazing down at Remus’s head. He’d never seen the Duke this still before, and it was rather unsettling.

Over the next hour, he remained kneeled beside the unconscious side, taking his temperature, feeling his pulse, covering the back of his head and hoping he wouldn’t have to make Roman conjure stitches. By the end of the hour, when he tried to feel around Remus’s head for the wound, he found a large bump that made him wince. However, his fingers came back with less blood than before and his wound seemed to have closed, meaning his regenerative processes must have started up again. Had he been awake, his healing would have been faster, but… Then again, Remus would likely just get himself into trouble again. Here, lying almost peacefully where Logan could watch over him, was preferable.

Logan watched him for a moment in silence, wondering if this was what Deceit was doing — sitting and watching Virgil heal, wondering what could have gotten him this way, if it was truly an accident or not. The thought stirred some feelings in Logan that he decided to ignore.

Instead of thinking further on the matter, he stood up and went to get a chair. He wouldn’t be leaving Remus’s side for a while.

***

Later that day, the three sides were still sitting in the living room, unbearably quiet. Remus was lying on the couch on his side, so he wouldn’t choke on any more blood that might have built up in his mouth. (The bleeding had stopped long ago, but they didn’t want to chance it.) Roman sat on the floor by the couch with his knees pulled up to his chest, thinking intently as he used his right hand to work on a sudoku puzzle — anything to keep his mind off his guilt, and his brother’s nearly-lifeless body.

Patton was seated on the armchair, bundled up in blankets and pretending he was napping. Logan had pulled up a chair and was seated beside Remus, a book in his hands. Every few minutes, he would take Remus’s pulse, just to appease Roman’s and Patton’s worries (and, though he wouldn’t admit it, his own). Logan knew that  _ logically  _ a side couldn’t die, not even in the imagination; a side could only fade from existence if they were no longer needed by their host, or if they went too far into the unconscious. Remus was not endangered by either of these things, so theoretically, he should be fine. That didn’t stop Logan’s breath from hitching whenever Remus’s body went too still.

Then, all of a sudden,  _ it  _ happened. Out of the blue, a door slammed open so hard, it hit the wall and left an indent. The sound caused everyone in the living room (except Remus, of course) to jump to their feet. Panic and dread shot through each of the sides as heavy footsteps stomped their way to the living room. It was Deceit, and he did  _ NOT  _ look happy.

He stormed in with Virgil clinging to his arm from behind.

“Virgil!” Patton cried. But Virgil refused to look up and meet the eyes of Patton or Roman, even though they couldn’t keep their eyes off of him. He looked up at Logan for a brief second, then returned his gaze to the floor.

Logan wanted to ask him if he was all right, but then Deceit’s eyes fell on the couch, and the climate of the room seemed to shift.

Deceit’s voice grew dark, loud, and distorted, and every one of the sides shivered at the intensity of the words that left his mouth. “ **_WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!_ ** ”


	5. The One Who Did Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Whoo boy. I did a crappy job outlining because I thought every chapter from the last one on was long... But this was the shortest yet?? Whoops. I'm not too satisfied with it compared to the others, but it IS pretty much just a bridge between a downward slope and upward climb.  
> After this one, we start on a healing curve, so don't you worry. If all goes well, I hope to finish this story by the end of the month. Don't expect the next chapter until at least the end of the week, though. I have lots of work to do this week, and I'm doing the Frictional Games writing challenge, meaning I have 30 prompts to write between now and the end of June. That's about three stories per week, for just one fandom. Yikes.]

Logan really did try to explain.  _ (To Roman’s credit, he was making a valiant effort as well.) _ But the one regrettable downside of being Logic was that people rarely ever listened to him.

If Logan hadn’t previously been aware of that one cruel fact of his existence, he certainly was now.

“Deceit, allow me to explain,” Logan insisted, but Deceit merely hissed at his words. Despite shouting the question through the room, he wasn’t really looking for an answer. That was made clear when suddenly Logan’s hand was clamping his mouth shut. Deceit refused to even  _ look  _ at him; Logan thought that if he did, he might be swayed into listening to his side of the argument. Deceit was the only one who really listened to Logan sometimes, as infuriating as that could be.

But now, even he refused to listen to reason.

“How dare you hurt my family!” He shrieked. Patton’s eyes widened at the term.  _ Family _ . That word, his tone, and the look of anguish in his eyes… He suddenly saw a glimpse of himself in the other side, something he never would have imagined.

He recalled Logan’s words.  _ “You may not get along with Deceit, but he wouldn’t hurt Virgil.” _

Suddenly Patton felt sick to his stomach. Maybe this  _ was  _ what was best for his kiddo.

“How dare  _ you _ !” Roman yelled at the snake, rising to the challenge. He stood between Deceit and the couch, pointing in the liar’s face. “You sent him to keep me from seeing Virgil! I had every right to guarantee his well-being for myself! You have no right to stop me!”

Deceit glowered. “And that’s the act of a purely-driven hero?” He pointed down at the still body on the couch, and Roman’s face fell.

“I didn’t mean… I  _ never— _ ”

Then, to his surprise, Virgil spoke up.“Princey…” His eyes met Roman’s, wary confusion meeting regret. “... what did you  _ do  _ to him?”

“... I…” Roman suddenly looked interested in his shoes.

Logan found himself capable of speaking again, and he quickly tried to deescalate the mood of the room. “Deceit, please do not misunderstand. What happened in the imagination between Roman and the Duke was an accident. We have discussed this already, and Roman is aware of and takes responsibility for his actions.”

“If he wants to take  _ responsibility  _ for his actions, then he should back out of my way,” Deceit snapped.

“Deceit—”

And suddenly Logan was covering his mouth again, forced into silence. He would have huffed in frustration, but no one would have heard it.

Deceit stared silently at Roman, waiting for him to make a move. Finally, the creative side’s confidence seemed to break, and he stepped far off to the side.

Deceit stormed toward the couch. Logan and Patton backed up toward the tv, giving him space to kneel by Remus’s side. Patton noticed how Virgil refused to look at them; his eyes, like Deceit’s, were glued to Remus and the bloodstains left on the couch and on a hand towel on the floor.

_ ‘I would never hurt you, Virgil,’ _ Patton thought to himself. But now he could understand why it was so hard for Virgil to believe. Such a secluded, tiny incident — who knew what paranoid anxious thoughts were running through his mind? He’d seen Virgil after nightmares before, unable to look at ordinary house objects because he saw them used for horrifying purposes in his sleep. Patton had built their relationship up, piece by piece, oh so careful to both give Virgil the space he needed, while giving him a friendly push toward socialization. It was a careful balance, like a wobbly drawstring bridge hanging over a cliff. A small seed of doubt would only grow and spread, wrapping around the rope of the bridge like vines. And now, the bridge had snapped. Could he build a new one in its place? Even if he did, Virgil had another bridge he could lean on. It didn’t mean he would come back.

Deceit picked up Remus’s body, and Virgil bit his lip. There was a stiffness to Deceit’s stature, but even just a foot away from him, he could  _ feel  _ the other’s heart racing. Deceit was stressed out, and the mere idea of that was starting to stress  _ him  _ out. He nudged Deceit’s shoulder, murmuring, “Let’s go.” He had to get his friend out of there.

He didn’t notice how Patton and Roman’s faces fell upon hearing those words.

Deceit stood tall and turned so he was facing all three of the other sides. He relinquished his hold over Logan and began to speak.

“You are all  _ forbidden  _ from approaching any of us,” Deceit stated firmly. Roman made a sound of protest, but went silent when Deceit shot a look his way. “You will not go near us. Until I say so, you will not come after  _ Virgil _ , and you will not come after  _ Remus _ . You won’t hurt either of them again, or you’ll answer to  _ me _ . Is that understood.”

Logan didn’t say anything. No words were necessary because Deceit was giving them no choice. And he really didn’t feel like being shut down again; already, unnecessary anger was hardening his movements.

Roman looked like he wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth. Virgil sent him an apologetic look.

“... I understand,” Patton answered gently. Virgil’s eyes flashed at him for a brief second, but they were back on the floor before Patton noticed.

“Good.” Then Deceit turned around, and started walking toward the hall.

Roman took a single step after him.“B-Bu- Th-That’s my brother,” Roman finally sputtered.

“ _ Was _ ,” Deceit replied without stopping. Roman’s eyes filled with anguish.

Virgil was still standing there at the edge of the room when Deceit walked down the hall to the door. His feet seemed to stop on their own, like they had some unfinished business.

“Virgil?” Patton called out softly. Virgil turned his head to face him, and seeing his father figure, his best friend, his confidant, watching him with such large, heartbroken eyes had him feeling like knives named “guilt” were stabbing at his insides. He knew he should speak up, explain himself, tell Patton he wasn’t to blame —

“Virgil?” Deceit called, just as softly. Hesitance weighed on his features, like he half-expected Virgil to say he was staying, that he was walking out on them again. Virgil shrinked. He hated that he was caught in the middle of… whatever this was. Hated that it seemed like he had a choice. He looked at Remus’s body, his arms hanging limp in the air, his only movements being the small rise and fall of his chest, and he knew he didn’t really have another option. He’d be damned if he wasn’t there for them after what they’d done for him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, his head turning in shame as he followed Deceit down the hall.

The living room fell silent as Deceit carried Remus through the door to the dark side, Virgil firmly shutting the door behind them. This time, the picture on the wall wasn’t shaking, but the familiarity of the turn of events filled Patton with more dread than before. His legs felt shaky, so he let himself collapse onto the floor and sit in silence, mulling over the day’s events.

Roman looked devastated. Logan approached him and reached out a hand to place on his shoulder. “Roman—”

His hand was swiped away. “I — I need to be left alone.” He speed-walked across the room.

“Roman—”   
“I’ll be in the imagination. Don’t come looking for me.”

Then he sprinted up the stairs and vanished before Logan could say another word.

Logan stood there and processed the weight of all that had happened. The sides around him felt like they were falling apart, and Logan felt like the desperate final pillar struggling to hold them together all on his own. They allowed themselves to become possessed by their emotions, so much so that they didn’t seem to realize they were tearing each other apart instead of stitching the seams. Logan himself had almost been overtaken by his vexation. But when push came to shove, he was Logic, because Thomas and his fellow sides depended on logic more than they did Logan. So he swallowed down any bit of emotion he’d felt and started reflecting on the way Virgil had been acting. Virgil’s body language spoke leaps and bounds above his words, and the way his eyes turned sad when he looked at Patton —  _ sad _ , not frightened — spoke volumes. He had the puzzle pieces; he just had yet to fit them together.

He looked down at Patton in sympathy. The television was silent; their last movie had ended a while ago. Should he put on another, or just leave him alone?

“Maybe it’s for the best…” Patton murmured.

Logan blinked. “What do you mean?”

Patton sat up straighter. “Maybe it’s for the best that we're separated… Virgil is upset with me, and Deceit… He’ll be a much better friend and father figure to him than I could ever be. Why did I ever think I could replace what he already had…?” Patton brought his knees up and rested his arms on top of them. “I see what you mean now. He would never hurt any of them. I had my doubts before — he lies, after all, and lying is wrong, but…”

“Patton, you didn’t hurt Virgil.”   
“I must have. I must have done something wrong without realizing it.”

Logan thought through the possibilities again, reflecting on the guilty look in Virgil’s eyes. A thoughtful expression planted itself on his face; he felt he was onto something here. Aloud he suggested, “Maybe the one who did something wrong was  _ Virgil… _ ”

Patton looked up, confused. “Huh?”

Logan cleared his throat and started walking off. “Excuse me for a moment, Patton. My room has a way of enhancing my focus.” Patton didn’t miss the determination that swept across his face as he took the stairs.

Patton sat alone in the room once Logan left, wrapped up in a mysterious silence. He was confused, for sure, but he no longer felt any inclination or desire to cry.


	6. Theories and Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {I'm in a very angsty mood. And I just realized that my go-to angst character is Remus, because I physically can not stop myself from hurting him when he's in one of my stories. I just... relate way too hard. To my friend group I'm more of a combination of Virgil and Patton, but inside I feel like a Remus. And that means he must suffer. And then get some help. Which is why, my next few Sanders Sides one-shots are also probably gonna be Remus-centric. So I hope you like hurt trash boy! Heh. Heheh. (I have a problem.)  
> But yeah, the focus is slowly shifting back to Virgil and everyone's starting to get back on track. 3 chapters to go. There's a light at the end of the tunnel.}

_ Theory #1: Patton harmed Virgil (or Deceit or Remus) willingly in Virgil’s presence. _

_ Theory #2: Patton was temporarily controlled by a hidden dark side. _

_ Theory #3: Patton subconsciously triggered some form of PTSD within Virgil. _

_ Theory #4: Patton did nothing wrong, but Virgil was tricked by another side to think he did. _

_ Theory #5: Something caused Virgil to hallucinate and mix up his reality with visions. _

Logan frowned, wondering if his emotions were getting in the way of his theories; after all, he had no strong evidence against any of them. However, he didn’t know about any hidden dark sides, and he didn’t think any of the sides he  _ did  _ know were purposefully manipulating him. And he doubted it was Patton’s conscious errors if he, too, was asking Logan to investigate the truth. Someone who was guilty wouldn’t call for a detective to solve their crime, after all.

They’d all been genuinely surprised when it happened -- or at least, they  _ looked  _ like they were. Logan considered that Deceit could have been lying to Virgil, or Remus could have been scaring him, but he shut down those ideas because Virgil’s fear was directed toward  _ Patton  _ of all people, not the dark sides.

Logan was hesitant to brush it off as a delusion or nightmare, but all of the facts pointed to Virgil being the origin of the incident… which meant Logan wouldn’t get anywhere until he could contact Virgil.

That was why he wrote the note.

_ Dear Deceit, _

_ I would like to ask that I be allowed to speak to Virgil. The meeting can be on your terms, in your presence, but I wish to speak to him without distraction. I have come alone regarding this, and neither Patton nor Roman are aware of the contents of this letter. Please indulge me, as I believe I could solve this tension relatively quickly, if I can have your consent to ask him a few questions. _

_ Please also let me know the physical condition of Virgil and Remus, regardless of your response. I would like to know that they are all right, and please let me know immediately if they are in need of my assistance. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Logan _

Logan slipped the letter underneath the door to the dark side. He frowned and listened for the sound of any movement, but there was none. He tried giving the doorknob a twist, but, as he figured, it was locked. Sighing, he turned and headed back to his room, hoping that one of the others would come find it before long. There was nothing else he could do but wait.

***

Remus squatted down to pick up the sealed letter that had been slid under the door at the top of the stairs. He stared at it suspiciously, like he expected something malicious to come out of it, like dozens of fire ants or a venomous spider. He stood there for minutes on end, waiting for (and kind of hoping for) something unusual to happen… But, no. It was just an ordinary letter.

“Remus!”

He smirked mischievously upon hearing Deceit’s agitated voice. The snake-like side was standing at the bottom of the stairs, tapping his foot angrily against the floor.

“Double-Dee, look what I found!” Remus waved the letter in the darkness.

Deceit’s eyes narrowed. “Bring it here. And may I remind you to be careful? I thought you were still woozy from the other day.”

“Yeah? And?”

He looked exasperated. “And you shouldn’t be standing at the top of the stairs feeling dizzy.”

“But that’s the funnest time!”

Deceit face-palmed. Virgil walked up behind him, raising an eyebrow. “Did he just say ‘funnest’?”

“I’m leaving. He’s in your hands now.”

Virgil blinked. “What? No!” Remus giggled and started leaping down the stairs, three at a time. Virgil panicked. “Remus, slow down! You’re gonna fall!” It didn’t help his confidence that the other side still hadn’t taken off the bandage around his head. They weren’t sure if it was because he liked wearing it or what; it was hard to tell with him. It wasn’t like he’d expressed any pain since he woke up, besides dizziness. Virgil and Deceit had been fearful over his injury, thinking it would be far more serious than it ended up being. But Remus woke as energetic and excitable as ever, and though his first question was where Roman was so he could challenge him to another duel, they’d forced him to explain what happened to him before he was allowed to stand.

Remus explained that he’d been experimenting with strength on his side of the imagination, causing some objects to have higher masses than one would expect, and some to be incredibly light. They could also change spontaneously at any time, causing the people to become paranoid. He’d been testing out a new idea -- a dueling grounds in the town square where each character who entered the field -- including him -- had only 1 HP, but they could only be taken out by the town itself. He got a kick out of watching people scream at the sight of approaching tumbleweeds that were harmless, only to perish when dollar bills blew into their faces, leaving marks like they’d been slapped with a metal pole. But that got boring after a while. Remus  _ hated  _ getting bored.

So he was planning out a new idea for that town around the time when he and Roman had their meeting. He’d been meaning to create a town of Mortal Kombat-like villagers he could watch from afar, or join in against if he were in the mood. Unfortunately, though, all of the townspeople had died by the time he came back. It was depressing enough for him to cancel his plans and go bug Deceit for the rest of the day. And that was when his brother summoned him.

Deceit and Virgil had shared looks of exhaustion as Remus babbled on about how he was going to get back at Roman for using his creations against him. (However unintentionally it might be, he still deserved a good swat on the head) If there was one thing they knew, it was that Remus was wild and restless, and nothing would ever stop him, not even an indent to his skull.

So Virgil really shouldn’t have been surprised when Remus landed on his feet at the bottom of the steps, though teetering off-balance. “But I  _ didn’t  _ fall!” He announced proudly. Virgil rolled his eyes as he was poked on the head. The Duke then started running after Deceit. “Dee-Dee, I got the letter!”

“A letter?” That piqued Virgil’s interest. “From who?”

“I dunno.” Remus ripped open the envelope and unfolded the letter, raising it up in the air. Virgil leaned in behind him to read, and Deceit sighed before doing the same.

***

“No,” Deceii muttered, breaking the silence following their reading. “That’s our answer.”

Virgil looked up at him, confused. “Deceit--”

“ _ No _ .”

“Can I write the message back?” Remus asked.

Deceit nodded. “Go ahead.”

Content, Remus generated a blank sheet of paper and began writing with a silly grin on his face. Virgil glanced at it once and immediately turned away, his face twisting in disgust; all he knew was, Remus was answering in  _ pictures  _ rather than words, and he didn’t even want to  _ think  _ about what sort of message he was sending Logan. It certainly didn’t seem appropriate. But then again, neither did the local artist.

Deceit walked off toward the kitchen, and Virgil hesitantly followed him. As soon as he entered the room, leaving Remus’s hearing range, he mumbled, “You know, it’s fine. Sooner or later, I’m gonna have to go back.”

“It’s not fine,” Deceit replied, as he started putting away the clean and dry dishes. Virgil began to help him. “You’re hurting because of them, and don’t you deny it. And now Remus is, too.” Something stirred in his eyes. “And I won’t let them hurt you anymore.”

“Look, the thing with Princey and the Duke was a separate incident. You can’t judge any of them for that,” Virgil pointed out. “Remus said it himself,  _ more than once _ , that it was just an accident.”

By “more than once”, Virgil meant  _ several times _ . In fact, ever since Remus restored consciousness, he was bouncing about as always, telling them he wanted to go to the imagination, or to go bother Roman and bop him over the head as payback. But Deceit had somehow managed to lock the door on both sides -- how, neither Virgil nor Remus knew, but they wouldn’t doubt if it were just pure willpower -- so that no one could get in or out without his say-so.

Virgil hadn’t been too upset at first, but Remus had been relentless.

“Dee, can I go see Roman now?”

“No.”   
“How about now?”

“No.”

“Pretty please, Double-Dee?”

“No.”

“Pretty please with feces on top?”

“No. Ask me again and I hide your deodorant.”

Remus had been persistent, but Deceit was  _ unyielding _ . He turned to face Virgil with his yellow eye.

“If I chose to let him go, then Roman would be there waiting for him. I refuse to allow that.”

Virgil started feeling a little irritated. “That’s not your decision. It’s never  _ been  _ your decision.”

Deceit growled. “I will  _ not  _ allow it again!” His voice rose to a yell, and Virgil flinched backwards. Deceit’s face fell into a remorseful look. His shoulders hunched and he walked out of the kitchen, giving Virgil space.

The anxious side hesitated, then followed after him. Remus was no longer in the living room; Deceit took one quick look up the stairs and saw he wasn’t there, either, so he huffed and sat himself down on the couch. Virgil sat down on the other end, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on top. “It’s not the other sides’ fault. They did nothing wrong.” Deceit simply rolled his eyes. Annoyed, Virgil demanded, “Look, I’m not lying! You wanna test me?  _ It’s not their fault. They did nothing wrong. _ ”

Deceit’s eyes narrowed, focusing on Virgil’s words, but he couldn’t detect a single lie. “Go ahead, then. Explain that day.”

“It was my fault,” Virgil started, but he was immediately brushed off.

“No, it wasn’t.”

“But it was! I overreacted.”

“Virgil, quit trying to defend them. It’s pointless to --”

“ _ It wasn’t real. _ ”

Deceit looked at him carefully. “What do you mean, ‘it wasn’t real’?”

Virgil closed his eyes and turned away in shame. Deceit gently reached for his chin and turned his face back to meet his. Virgil took one look at Deceit’s face, and he broke down and started telling him everything.

Everything, starting with how happy he was with their famILY, with Patton, until the sudden nightmare. What happened in it, to Remus, to Deceit, to Virgil. How he couldn’t stop over analyzing every little thing Patton said or did. How the smallest speck of doubt latched onto his anxiety and bloomed, until just knowing Patton was in the room made him scared. How he was too afraid to leave the others alone.

He didn’t tell him the deeper issues. How he couldn’t just pass it off as uneasiness, because he was  _ Anxiety _ . How his reactions were always over the top and he couldn’t help it. How he was so ashamed of himself because of what he’d done to the others, to Patton, even  _ before  _ this incident. How he didn’t deserve to be one of them, how he didn’t deserve their kindness, because all he ever did was cause trouble for them in the long run. Like now.

He hadn’t realized his eyes had drifted down to his clenched fists as he spoke. His knuckles were white from the force, and he had to remind himself to take a breath and let them relax. He finished saying his piece and closed his mouth, wondering whether Deceit was going to throw his hands up in the air in frustration and walk out on him for being so pathetic. Finally, he pulled together the courage to look up at Deceit.

Virgil knew the apprehension must’ve been in his eyes, because Deceit pulled him in close without a second’s hesitation. He leaned into his touch gratefully, breathing in his natural musk, as the other promised, “I will never allow anyone to hurt you.”

“I know,” Virgil replied, feeling a lump in his throat. “That’s why Patton had to take you out first.” Deceit’s hold on him tightened. Virgil realized he was crying and there was no use in stopping it, so he squeezed himself closer to Deceit, allowing the comfort to calm him down so he didn’t start spiraling. He had to get this out. “I n-never realized, h-how  _ much  _ you mean to me,” he whimpered, ignoring the urge to wipe his eyes dry against Deceit’s shirt.

“Shhhh.” Deceit stroked the back of his head lovingly. “We’re safe, storm cloud. We’re safe.”

Virgil hiccuped and sniffed. “I-It made me realize… that Patton -- h-he must’ve been the one to cause the Split… Ro- Roman and Remus… H-he split us all long ago, d-didn’t he? The bad and the good…”

“Shh. That’s not true. There are no good and bad sides.”

“And I-I’ll never know!” Virgil cried. “I’ll never know, what’s going inside his head, I’ll never… I thought he was  _ innocent _ , Dee, and I -- what do I think of him now? It’s shattered, what I thought, what I wanted to think--”

“None of us are pure, Virgil.”

“I-I  **_know_ ** , but -- b-but I wanted to  _ hope _ , I wanted to believe it, and it’s my fault--”

“No.”

“-- that now that I know… I-I know now, wh-what he’s capable of -- shit, what we’re  **_all_ ** capable of -- Dee, we’re all  _ monsters _ .” Virgil sniffed again. “A-And what frightened me most is, wh-what if it was a warning? What if it was the future? Wh-What if it comes true? What then?”

Deceit realized then the full, true nature of Virgil’s fear. He wasn’t afraid of Patton himself, so much as he was afraid of failing the others. He was afraid that they would suffer and it would be his own fault, because of his inability to look outside his comfort zone, to see what he didn’t want to see. That fear manifested itself in his nightmare as Patton, and that broke him.

Deceit took off his gloves and wiped away Virgil’s tears, before running his fingers through his hair soothingly. “It’s all right,” he spoke amidst repeated shushings, whispering those soothing lies and honeyed words. But the cold hard truth was, he wasn’t even sure it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {If you're reading this far, great! Would you mind helping me out and answering a few survey questions?  
> Feel free to skip any if you're unsure, but every bit helps!
> 
> 1\. What Sanders Sides ships do you like and which do you not?  
> 2\. Would you rather read a Sanders Sides crossover (Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender) or a human AU (high school, foster care, etc.)?  
> 3\. Do you prefer one-shots, short stories (1-10 chapters), or long stories?  
> 4\. Fluff, hurt/comfort, angst, or other? (Specify what if "other".)  
> 5\. Favorite and least favorite side?  
> 6\. Favorite and least favorite Sanders Sides fandom trope/headcanon/idea?  
> 7\. Soulmate AU or group chat AU?  
> 8\. Which of the Sanders Sides do you relate to the most, and why? You can list multiple as long as you explain.  
> 9\. On a scale of 1 to 10, rate your average physical and emotional well-being most days in the last month or so.  
> 10\. Tell me something unique that makes you happy in your everyday life. Think outside the box -- something out of the ordinary. For instance, don't just say your dog, tell me about your dog or what he does that's funny; does one of his teeth stick out when his mouth closes? Does he snore? Does he like to steal another dog's treats? Enlighten me. :) }


	7. Messages, Protection, Prevention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (What we learned in the new episode has me wondering if I should go back and change some things, but I need some more time to consider how I'm going to do that. I need to decide whether I'm just swapping the names or if I have to change the nicknames, too. So it may or may not be changed within the next week.
> 
> I had this chapter mostly ready for over a week now and just kept staring at it, not ready to post but not sure what I wanted to change. But I couldn't keep pushing it off, so here it is! Next chapter will be a reunion of sorts.)

Logan felt his jaw tighten as he stared at the drawing he’d found underneath the door. Of course, Remus couldn’t bother to send him an  _ actual  _ letter. Instead, he received an unflattering drawing of himself and Roman engaged in some sort of cephalopod-related sexual activity. He assumed the cephalopod was meant to be Patton, given the glasses and the sleeves of a onesie tied across his neck. He should have known to expect no less from Remus, but then again, he’d expected  _ Deceit  _ to send the response instead. He tried to reassure himself by concluding that, if Remus was well-enough to create…  **_this_ ** , then he was physically sound. At least Logan had some positive news to share with his fellow sides.

It was illogical to be angry when he should be grateful for receiving any response at all. He hadn’t been sure Deceit would even read the letter, but he must have. After all, the few words Remus sent him suggested it was a collaborative decision. However, Logan only had words from Deceit and Remus. Virgil had offered him no clues whatsoever, except for that small “sorry” he left them with. A single word could be interpreted hundreds of ways; it wasn’t enough to prove anything.

Logan rubbed his forehead and let a bitter sigh taint the air. He folded up the drawing and placed it in his pocket. Then he passed through the living room and entered the kitchen.

Patton had made them breakfast again. This time, he’d made an assortment of pancakes — blueberry for Logan, cinnamon roll for Roman, and peanut butter poodle pancakes for himself. He’d stopped himself from making oatmeal raisin pancakes for Remus and fluffy pancakes for Deceit, but somehow he couldn’t stop himself from preparing three chocolate chip pancakes that went ignored on the pan.

Once they’d all eaten a little in silence, Patton cleared his throat and spoke up. “So, Roman. Have you heard from your brother?”

“No.” Roman didn’t meet his eyes. Patton’s face fell. He felt he’d opened a wound he should have ignored.

“Actually,  _ I  _ have,” Logan interjected. Roman’s head shot up.

“You — You have?”

Logan nodded. “Not directly, unfortunately, but through a rather crude drawing he left under the door in response to my letter. I — I’ll let you have a look later, if you wish. I’d advise against looking now during a meal.”

Roman’s face scrunched up. “On second thought, I believe I’ll refrain, Logan. I’m sure I’d rather not see whatever  _ Remus  _ decided to send. … But, what did he say?”

“From what I’ve gathered, his mental and physical state seem normal. That is, normal for Remus. I’m sure he’s all right; whatever was done in the imagination must not have had severe effects.”

“That’s — That’s good.” Roman exhaled. “Thank you, Logan.”

“No need for thanks. We are all in the same predicament here.”

The creative side frowned, brows furrowed in deep thought. “And Virgil?”

Logan sighed. “Nothing.”

A silence fell across the room. Silence was counterproductive to healing, though, and Logan sought a way to break it. His eyes scanned the room and rested upon the refrigerator. On top of the fridge, there were a bunch of flower crowns of various colors sitting in rows.

“Patton, what are those doing on top of the fridge?”

Patton smiled sheepishly. He stood up from the table and crossed over the room to the fridge. He stood on his toes and picked up four crowns, then walked over to Roman. He placed a crown of red pentas and white baby’s breath flowers on his head, which Roman proudly accepted. He then walked over to Logan and placed a crown of blue anemone and monkshood flowers on his head.

“These are well-chosen flowers, Patton,” he murmured, his gaze shifting to the crowns left in Patton’s hands. “I’m afraid I don’t understand their purpose for being here, though—”

“I wanted a memory,” Patton explained quietly. “I wanted a good memory, one that would distract him from whatever was going on, not — not what came out of it.” His explanation was not quite clear, but Logan got the gist of it.

Patton placed one of the two remaining crowns on his own head — it had peonies, feverfew flowers, baby’s breath, and blue delphiniums arranged very carefully.

“Looking good, padre,” Roman exclaimed. Patton smiled down at the creative side, but then he stilled as his attention fell on the final flower crown in his hands. Virgil’s — purple statice flowers on a black band, so clearly matching the dark aesthetic of the love he had lost. Before he knew it, tears were sprinkling in his eyes and he felt a lump in his throat that only a good cry could ever get out.

“Patton.” He looked up to find Logan’s eyes trained on him. “Is that Virgil’s?”

Patton nodded slowly. Logan stood up from the table, and at first, Patton wondered what he was doing. Then Logan approached him and held out a hand.

“Wh-What are you—?”

“I will need you to trust me,” Logan said. “I have an idea. But I need you to give me the crown.”

Patton’s eyes fell down to the purple flowers, and he hesitated. It was all he really had of Virgil. “Logan, I—”

“Patton, please.”

He caved in fairly quickly. Patton closed his eyes and held out his arm, uncurling his fist around the band. He trusted Logan; he’d asked him to get to the bottom of this, and if that meant sacrificing one small memory… So be it. Anything to fix his family.

The flower crown fell into Logan’s hands. He held it firmly without damaging the flowers. Logan gave Patton a gentle pat on the shoulder before leaving the room. Roman took his place by Patton’s side, and had already pulled him into a comforting hug before the logical side was even out the door. As he walked away, he could hear Patton break out into sobs, and an uncomfortable feeling settled in his chest -- one he didn’t want to think too much about.

Logan went straight to the door to the dark side and tried the handle. It was locked, as could be expected, so instead he did his best to fit the flower crown underneath the door. It managed to fit, probably in part because it had already been squashed earlier during the incident.

With that done, all Logan could do was wait, and pray for more good news. He turned and headed back up the stairs, his attention diverted. He didn’t notice how, almost immediately, there was the sound of shuffling from behind the door and footsteps running down the stairs.

***

“Looky what I got here!” Remus shouted as he stormed into the kitchen. Deceit and Virgil, who had been busy eating breakfast, let out simultaneous groans of annoyance. Remus having anything to show them at all typically meant unpleasantness, and at breakfast-time, that was the last thing either of them wanted.

Surprisingly, though, he didn’t show them any grotesque ideas or creations of his. Instead, he held up a purple flower crown that looked like it had seen better days. Deceit looked confused.

“Is… that supposed to mean something?”

“Maybe? I dunno! I guess it’s one of Virgey’s, huh?” Remus tried to plop the crown in Virgil’s hands, but he flinched backwards and brought his hands up to his chest.

Deceit blinked. “Virgil?” He jumped to his feet and snatched the crown from Remus’s hands. Virgil felt his body trembling as he gazed at the crown, full of memories that did or did not exist, memories that should not be troubling him as much as they did. Well, the memories weren’t the pressing issue — the problem was, somewhere in the last five seconds he forgot how to breathe, and now he had to try and remember before he lost complete control.

“S-Set it down. On the table,” he croaked. Deceit complied, then quickly backed up, a look of wonder in his eyes. He pulled Remus back with him.

Virgil took a few moments to regulate his breathing, then reached out a shaky hand to grab the crown. He noticed that it was messed up; some of the flowers looked like they’d been slammed into a wall, and he was sure that some petals were missing. The wire looked bent, too — but that wasn’t the point.

_ Patton still kept it. _

It was damaged, sure, but Patton still cherished it. That was just who Patton  _ was _ . He didn’t get rid of things just because he thought they were broken. That was the difference between the real Patton and the dream Patton — the difference between his love and his fear.

Virgil carefully placed the crown on top of his head. Once it was stable, he slowly lowered his arms to his sides and took in a deep breath, contemplating his options. Remus looked antsy and ready to break the silence any moment if no one beat him to it. Deceit watched Virgil very closely, his expression not giving away any of his thoughts.

Virgil summoned his strength, and said, “I want to see him.”

“No,” came Deceit’s immediate response. Virgil stood up and glared at him.   
“You’re not stopping me.”

“I…” Deceit looked conflicted. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I don’t care.”

“I’m going, too,” Remus piped up, and all the conflict in Deceit’s expression turned to horror.

“No! Absolutely not!”

“Oh, yeah?” Remus stepped right up to Deceit and grinned into his face. “Try and stop me.”

He waited for a response, but Deceit was struck silent. Virgil could practically hear the war going on inside his head. Remus nodded in triumph, then grabbed Virgil by the wrist. He yelped as he was dragged along toward the stairs.

“Come on, Virgey! Time to go see the lights!”

“ **_NO!_ ** ” Deceit screamed. He was suddenly standing in their way again, eyes fierce, but Virgil knew there was an underlying terror. He could sense the pure anxiety permeating from the side in front of him.

“What do you mean,  _ ‘no’ _ ?” Remus asked, a dangerous glint in his eye. His arm swung out to the side, like he was going to call his morningstar, but Virgil pushed him aside and he spent the next few seconds fumbling to regain his balance.

“You can’t keep us down here forever!” Virgil snapped. Deceit flinched. His expression saddened with something akin to realization.

“I know that,” he whispered. All the frustration in Virgil’s body died as he registered the crack in Deceit’s voice. The lying side pulled his arms into his chest and closed his eyes, and Virgil’s anxiety took a leap when he realized teardrops were trying to escape from behind his eyelids.

“D-Deceit?”

Deceit’s legs were trembling. He slowly dropped to his knees, but his voice rose in both volume and pitch. “I know that!” he yelled, his voice sounding even more broken. Virgil cast Remus a look and saw their faces matched in surprise.

“Dee-Dee…”

“I just wanted what’s best for you… I never wanted to hurt you by trapping you down here with me. I know… I know you never liked it down here. I never did, either. But up there, all they did was mock and scorn us, and I… I didn’t want you to be hurt,  _ alone _ , the way I...”

Virgil cautiously approached him, but Deceit didn’t seem to notice. He was staring down at his gloves as moisture dropped down on one of them from above.

“I’m sorry…” His voice cracked, and he hung his head as far down as it could go, removing the others from his sight. “You’re right. You always were. You can -- go… Just go.”

Remus lunged into him and latched on tight with all four of his limbs, sticking to him like the cephalopods he was so fond of. Deceit buried his face in Remus’s hair, trying to push down the desperate sobs that clogged his throat. Virgil knelt down beside him and shook his head.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around Deceit as far as he could. He wasn’t too good at consoling others, but at least he knew how to hug. Deceit’s body began to quiver, and then he broke down completely.

“I don’t… I don’t want to be alone,” Deceit admitted through his tears. Virgil gently shushed him as he nuzzled his head against Deceit’s shoulder.

He decided to hold off on going up for one more day. Patton could wait just a little longer; Virgil had some wounds to heal.

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.quotev.com/story/12286900/Sanders-Sides-Stories-One-Shots/9
> 
> [News for Sanders Sides fans: I'm working on a massive four-book college AU! Would you like to create original characters to make minor or major appearances? Would you just like a name to be featured as an easter egg? Or do you have any ideas you'd like me to slip in? Leave me a comment or go to my profile. Follow this link for more information, and shoot me a message on Quotev! If you don't have a Quotev account, you can contact me through the comments here or by emailing Zukithechosenone@gmail.com.]


End file.
